Sha Tin Residents Crowd Mall In New Protest

Scores of Sha Tin residents crowded around an information desk at the New Town Plaza mall on Tuesday evening to demand to know whether staff invited riot police into the mall on Sunday night, when officers clashed with anti-extradition protesters.

They demanded a meeting with management from the mall's owner, Sun Hung Kai Properties, as they chanted slogans such as "Shame on New Town Plaza". Many stores in the complex closed early.

One Sha Tin resident who was in the mall said: "What happened on Sunday was totally unacceptable to all people living in this town. This is an open public space.

"This shopping mall hasn't done anything to their obligation and duty to protect the people who are the shoppers and those who actually contributed to the growth of this business over the last three decades. They are selling themselves. They are selling their souls and their business."

Some staff at the customer service counter complained of feeling unwell and were taken to hospital by ambulance.

Some people sat on the floor and stairs while others continued to stand. A reporter at the scene said people were coming and going, but numbers appeared to dwindle after 10pm and most had gone home by midnight.

Some protesters built a so-called "Lennon Wall" by sticking paper notes to a billboard and the customer service desk in the plaza.

Video footage from Sunday appeared to show mall staff ushering police in riot gear into the mall after many protesters fled there after a street clearance.

Clashes erupted after a largely peaceful march in opposition to the government's now-stalled proposal to change the extradition law to allow for fugitives to be sent to any jurisdiction, including the mainland.

Pan-democratic members of Sha Tin District Council say they will place a motion about police tactics on the agenda of a general meeting next week, and have invited members of the public to attend.

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